To piggyback off that, it would be interesting to see use/misuse of that idea (or getting more mileage off that). If you put the wrong person in said recycling center, you get a cannibal , or you get a cult, or they get emotional, etc. Or if you recycle someone important after they die (local hero or something), people get mad.

Not quite an animal, but perhaps examples of metamorphosis could be equally insightful.
http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/MWEBimages/ja_mm/full/M84_31_124.jpg
"An image of a rat. Raigo was a stern man, a priest whose duties included maintaining discipline among the acolytes of Mii Temple. A member of the influential Fujiwara family, he became spiritual adviser to Emperor Shirakawa (reigned 1072-86). For many years Shirakawa had no male heir by his Fujiwara empress and made several pilgrimages to Mii Temple in Kumano to pray for a son. An heir, Prince Atsuhisa, was at last born as a result of Raigo's prayers. Shirakawa was overjoyed and offered Raigo anything he wanted. Raigo asked nothing for himself but requested a raised platform for his temple upon which prayers could be offered. This was a privilege granted only to the fortified monastery of Mount Hiei, a stronghold of the yamabushi, literally "mountain warriors." These warrior-monks were a constant menace to Kyoto, periodically sweeping down and terrorizing the capital. Shirakawa (who had once complained that the fall of the dice, the waters of the Kamo River, and the monks of Mount Hiei were the only forces he could not control) was too afraid to grant Raigo's request. Raigo was infuriated. He retired to his cell where he shut himself away and refused to eat. Shirakawa sent conciliatory messages, but Raigo was implacable and eventually starved himself to death. Prince Atsuhisa died soon afterwards. Raigo's vengeful spirit changed into a thousand rats which infested the temple, destroying the Emperor's sacred books and scrolls and doing untold damage. Here we see a transformed Raigo, still in his priestly robe, chewing on a folded book. His ears and nose are not quite ratlike and suggest his human past. Smaller rats assist him in his destructive work, and a pack of rats dashes by excitedly in the background. "

Just for some out there stuff, I think the work of Asger Jorn captures childhood/fantasy/mythical/animal in an interesting way :
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcqexulEFF1rh5ktso1_400.jpg
As for the nightmare/dream I really enjoy :
Theres something nightmarish yet sexual about the throbbing of the clay and drums.

Ha Ha! I'll ask Tim about that one first thing in the morning.
"Hey Levi, do you know why we just got five hundred 1 cent donations ?"
"Errrrrr....No....but uh, excuse me while I go give Petty some footrubs"

300 votes to 4th place ! We're close to overtaking em !
I don't know if this is in the spirit of the whole event but the more donations you make the more time you can vote. The donation amount doesn't matter , so if you make 100 one dollar donations you get a hundred votes. I'll let Levi say if he approves or not.
Spread the word, tell your friends, lets get Black Lake to the top !

I appreciate your description, I think that would be an interesting direction to take the story in ; the daughter redeeming her father's actions. However, I'm also wary of the preachy environmental narrative - hunting is a natural part of human existence and its not something we should feel guilty about I feel (overhunting , yes, but hunting for necessity is fine)
The only reason I voice my concern is that I think every game experience must include moments of reflection and self doubt (ie "why am I participating in this reality?")- in this case the hunt is what is questioned. In gaming terms, this can manifest itself in monster that try to dissuade you from the hunt/cleansing, or monsters that ask for your forgiveness. I would love to see a nightmare ask you (in a convincing fashion) : "why is the killing of animals wrong but the killing of nightmares right ?"

I would like to expand upon this by stating that this entire process was underscored by the inherent melancholy of the hero's actions in SotC. Often the creatures he killed were beautiful, generally undeserving of death, and this conflict was not only germane but integral to the narrative. In Black Lake the hunt cannot simply be a matter of bandaging wounds, but bandaging knives as well (in the Beuys-ian sense).
There must always be the question of the hunter's position : whether it is hunter/hunted, or whether it is hunter vs things that should not be hunted, or (and this is the trickiest to pull off) whether a hunt is a solution to any problem. Example : Hunter vs wolf. 1. Is the wolf hunting me or am I hunting it ? 2. Should I kill a adult wolf and spare a baby wolf or just kill all wolves? 3. Why am I hunting the first place ? Is it my place to be killing wolves?
To summarize : lets not make it just a hunting game.